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3/16Freemasonry: Its not about me changing them , its about me changing me .

Continued on Page 10 - Importan

Continued on Page 10 - Convention

Why Is Ritual Important to

Freemasonry?By R. Theron Dunn

As Always when discussing

a subject of import, lets start

off with a definition and

progress in the examination.

So, what IS a ritual:

A ritualis a set of actions,often thought to have symbolic value, the

performance of which is usually prescribed by a

religion or by the traditions of a community by

religious or political laws because of the perceived

efficacy of those actions[1][2]

A ritual may be performed at regular intervals, or on

specific occasions, or at the discretion of individuals

or communities. It may be performed by a single

individual, by a group, or by the entire community;

in arbitrary places, or in places especially reservedfor it; either in public, in private, or before specific

people. A ritual may be restricted to a certain subset

of the community, and may enable or underscore

the passage between religious or social states.

The purposes of rituals are varied; they include

compliance with religious obligations or ideals,

satisfaction of spiritual or emotional needs of the

practitioners, strengthening of social bonds,

demonstration of respect or submission, stating

ones affiliation, obtaining social acceptance or

approval for some event or, sometimes, just

for the pleasure of the ritual itself.

Rituals of various kinds are a feature of almost all

known human societies, past or present. They

include not only the various worship rites and

sacraments of organized religions and cults, but also

the rites of passage of certain societies, oaths of

allegiance, coronations, and presidential

inaugurations, marriages and funerals, school rush

traditions and graduations, club meetings, sports

events, Halloween parties and veteran parades,

Christmas shopping, and more. Many activities that

are ostensibly performed for concrete purposes,

such as jury trials, execution of criminals, and

scientific symposia, are loaded with purely symbolic

actions prescribed by regulations or tradition, andthus partly ritualistic in nature. Even common

actions like hand-shaking and saying hello are rituals.

In any case, an essential feature of a ritual is that

the actions and their symbolism are not arbitrarily

chosen by the performers, nor dictated by logic or

necessity, but either are prescribed and imposed

upon the performers by some external source or

are inherited unconsciously from social traditions.1

So, its a set of actions though to have symbolic

value that are traditional and are not arbitrarily

chosen by the performers. Sounds a lot like

freemasonic ritual so far. Joseph Campbell said: A

ritual is the enactment of a myth. And through the

enactment it brings to mind the implications of the

life act that you are engaged in But you dont

know what youre doing unless you think about it.

Thats what a ritual does. It give you an occasion

to realize what youre doing so that youre

participating in the inevitable energy of life in its

exchanges. Thats what rituals are for; you do things

with intention, and not just in the animal way,

ravenously, without knowing what youre doing.2

Enactment of a myth, symbolism, imposed on the

performers. Now that we have defined what ritua

is, now we should begin to look at the place ritua

has in Freemasonry, and what it does for the craft

One thing that should be noted is that while ritua

is the foundational means by which we form

masons from the cowans of the world, it is not th

ONLY means of Masonic formation. Yet, in writin

that, we must realize that it is the ritual that open

the door, and it is the ritual the effects th

fundamental change in the psyche which makes

man a mason. There are some men that have bee

made a mason in a single day, and while they ar

good men, true brothers, it is the opinion of thi

author that such brothers have been robbed of

valuable and life changing experience.

The Convention That Changed the

Face of FreemasonryBy Allen E. Roberts

We are indebted to Wor.Brother Roberts, a noted

Masonic scholar and

author, for accepting thechallenge of preparing

this Short Talk Bulletin.It is another example of

his concern for the work of the Masonic

service Association.

For more than one hundred forty years manyFreemasons have been misinformed. They have

not been told the full story of one of Free-

masonrys most important events.

This story starts in December, 1839. It began with

a resolution adopted by the Grand Lodge of

Alabama, which requested all Grand Lodges to

send a delegate to the City of Washington on the

first Monday in March, 1842, for the purpose of

determining upon a uniform mode of work

throughout all the Lodges of the United States and

to make other lawful regulations for the interest

and security of the Craft. (The emphasis is mine,

for this indicates what I mean when I say we havebeen misinformed.)

The Convention was held on March 7, 1842, in

the Central Masonic Hall at four and a half and D

Streets N.W. Ten Grand Lodges were

represented. And these representatives refused to

seat a delegate from the Grand Lodge of Michigan,

declaring that it had not been established under

constitutional principles. The report was made by

Charles W. Moore, Chair-man of Credentials

Committee and Grand Secretary of the Grand

Lodge of Massachusetts. The Convention upheld

his report.

After due deliberation, it was concluded that no

enough Grand Lodges were represented, and ther

was not enough time to formulate a uniform ritua

that would be acceptable to all Grand Lodges

Differences of opinion among the committe

selected to develop a uniform mode of work wer

too many and not reconcilable. The Conventio

voted to request each Grand Lodge to appoin

some well-versed Mason and style him as a Gran

Lecturer to report to a Convention to be held th

following year.

The report of another Committee was to havimportant, immediate, and far reaching effects o

the Grand Lodges of the country. The Committe

on General Regulations Involving The Interests an

Security of The Craft reported in several areas. I

recommended that the Representative System

already adopted by some of the Grand Lodges

be extended to all Grand Lodges. To protect th

Fraternity from unworthy men claiming to b

Masons, the Committee recommended tha

certificates of good standing of visiting Brethren

who are strangers be made available by the Gran

Lodge to which they belong. These certificate

will not only shield the Institution, said th

committee, from the undeserving, but will furnisthe widow and orphans of the deceased Brethre

the best evidence of their claim upon the Fraternity.

This Committee also considered a

reprehensible the practice of receivin

promissory notes for the fees for conferrin

Degrees, instead of demanding the paymen

thereof before the Degrees are conferred.

The Committee considered it an impropriety t

transact business in Lodges below the Degree o

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The California Freemasonis published six times

Other MasonicPublications of Interest

Masonic Quarterly Magazine is the official

publication of the United Grand Lodge of England

Published by Grand Lodge Publications Limited

for the United Grand Lodge of England,

Freemasons Hall, Great Queen Street, London,

WC2B 5AZ

www.ugle.org.uk

[email protected] enquiries [email protected]

THE PHILALETHES

The International Masonic Research Society

Phylaxis Magazine

Phylaxis magazine is published quarterly by the

Phylaxis society. The First Quarter issue covers

diverse issues, including the Man of the Year.

In this issue, we feature an article about two Texas

Masons, one of whom marries a woman of color,

and the other who struggled for purity of the blood

of the white race. We have an excellent review of

the recognition process in Ontario, Canada.

We have a heated debate about the actual date the

Prince Hall Grand Lodge of Massachusetts wasestablished, and the new president of the Phylaxis

Society urges Prince Hall Masons to correct the

errors in their history perpetuated by those who

may not have our interests at heart.

annually by the Grand Lodge of California. It may

be downloaded free by going to:

www.cafreemason.com/

The name of the Society is pronounced fill a [a

in a-bate] lay thess with the accent on the thir

syllable - lay. It is derived from two Greek words

philos and alethes. It means lover of truth. Th

Philalethes Society was founded on October 1

1928, by a group of Masonic Students. It wa

designed for Freemasons desirous of seeking an

spreading Masonic light. In 1946 The Philalethe

Magazine was established to publish articles b

and for its members. And to this day publishes

times a year. The sole purpose of this Research

Society is to act as a clearing house for Masoni

knowledge. It exchanges ideas, researche

problems confronting Freemasonry, and passes

them along to the Masonic world.

Its membership consists of Members and 4

Fellows who are Master Masons in good standin

in a Regular Masonic Lodge anywhere in th

world. Today the Society has members withi

185 Regular Grand Lodges. More informatio

about the Society can be found at http:/

freemasonry.org

Back Issues

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Continued on Page 12 - Origi

On The Origins Of

Freemasonic RitualBy Rev. Wayne Major

The challenge has been raised over and over concerning Freemasonic rituals,

claims to the effect that the ritual represents anything ranging from a distortion

of biblical truth, to outright Satanism. I was prompted to offer this response afterseeing one of the latest diatribes on the subject at christianforums.com:

As aformerMason, I can

assure you that the

Masonic version is NOT an accurate account

of the Biblical record of the building of

Kings Solomons Temple. Freemasonry has

modified and altered Gods Word, therefore

they have distorted the truth.

Theyll admit that the legend is not true, and

say that it is an allegory to teach moral truth.

Yet, if you look up the word allegory it

has to do with fictional characters and

fictional events. As a Christian, you know

that the building of the Temple to Yahweh

was an actual historical event, and those

involved such as King Solomon, were real

people. Dont let Freemasonry fool you. You

cant tell a lie in order to teach a moral truth.

They are contradictory terms an

oxymoron. Lying is immoral, but lying about

Gods Word is the worse kind of lie anyone

could tell, that is why God curses anyone

who does.

In following the debate on this particular issue, I

have seen different theories advanced as to the

origins of ritual and the seting it arose from. The

suggestion has been made, and a proper one in

my estimation, that for a proper understanding of

the rituals of Masonry, we must have a firm grasp

of the context from which they arose. As I havesought to keep an open eye and ear for those

sources, there is one in particular which I have

seen occasionally alluded to, but it seems, never

expounded on with a great deal of clarity. Several

times I have seen just a sentence or short paragraph

acknowledgment that these rituals arise out o

medieval morality plays. I thought it would b

a good idea to investigate in greater depth an

determine for myself, if possible, the merits o

this suggested link. What I found was interestin

and informative, and I would like to share som

observations. (If someone has already expounde

on this subject in detail, I would be grateful if the

could steer me to the source, be it book, magazine

or weblink.)

To begin, I would like to take a look at the moralit

plays themselves, and the era and social milieu

from which they arose. What exactly is a moralit

play? Morality plays developed from a genre o

sacred drama known as mystery plays and miracl

plays. The mystery plays were a characterizatio

or reenactment of key events in scripture. Miracl

plays were essentially the same, but were focuse

more on particular personalitites found in scripture

or of historical saints and the miracles wrought i

their lives. The morality plays essentially aros

and developed from the mystery plays and miracl

plays, but there was one particular focus that mad

them completely different:

Unlike the perspective of the mystery and

miracle plays, that of the morality play was

individual rather than collective. The

Continued on Page 15- Principle

Masonic Principles,Morals and Ethics

By R. Theron Dunn

Freemasonry teaches us we must walk uprightly before g-d and man, acting upon the square and on

the level. In the first degree, we are reminded of those principles, as the foundation of a Masonic life.

They are the mission statement of the fraternity. This is the statement of what we are, what we stand

for, and what we will and will not do.

Principles are like lighthouses. They are natural

laws that cannot be broken. As Cecil B. deMille

observed: It is impossible for us to break the

law. We can only break ourselves against the law.

Principles are not practices. A practice is a

specific activity or action. A practice that works

in one circumstance will not necessarily work

in another, as parents who have tried to raise asecond child exactly like they did the first can

readily attest.

While practices are situationally specific,

principles are DEEP, fundamental truths that

have universal application. They apply to

individuals, to marriages, to families, to private

and public organizations of every kind. When

these truths are internalized into habits, they

empower people to create a wide variety of

practices to deal with different situations.

~ The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People

~ by Stephen R. Covey

Our principles are the foundation of our actions, they

define us as men. The set of principles that we live by

are the touchstones of our lives. Freemasonry offers a

set of principles in the first degree, and expands on

them in the following two degrees. The principles I

am referring to are NOT esoteric, mysterious, or

religious ideas. There is not one principle taught (inFreemasonry) unique to any specific faith or religion

Masonic principles are a part of most every major

enduring religion, as well as enduring social philosophies

and ethical systems. They are self-evident and can

easily be validated by any individual. Its almost as if

these principles or natural laws are part of the human

condition, part of the human consciousness, part of

the human conscience.

They seem to exist in all human beings, regardless of

social conditioning and loyalty to them, even though

they might be submerged or numbed by such

conditions or disloyalty. These principles are, fo

instance:

Fairness, Integrity, Honesty, Service, Quality,

Excellence, Potential, Patience, Human dignity,

Encouragement, Nurturance (brotherhood), and

Growth (personal and spiritual).

Principles are the territory. Values are the maps. When

we value correct principles, we have truth

knowledge of things as they are. So, lets take a look a

the principles as they are taught in the very first degre

of masonry:

Temperance, Fortitude, Prudence, Justice,

Integrity, Silence, Brotherly Love, Relief, Truth,

Hope, Faith, Charity, Freedom, Fervency, and

Zeal.

The principles enumerated above are fundamental t

human life, regardless of where or how the human

live, or what understanding they have of g-d. Thesprinciples are like the very air we breathe, they ar

essential to any human society. One way to quickl

grasp the self-evident nature of the principles is t

simply consider the absurdity of attempting to liv

an effective life based on their opposites.

These fundamental principles, like all grea

fundamentals, are really self evident to all men wh

pause for just a moment to consider what they expec

from their fellow men. They spring from what is th

basis of divine law. To quote Hillel:

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NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own ando not necessarily represent the views or opinions of any GranMasonic Jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body. Awith all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel free to reusthem in Masonic publications or to re-post them on Maosniweb sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add thfollowing:

Article reprinted with permission of the author and ThLodgeroom International Magazine. Please forward me a copof the publication when it is produced.

HAVE WE GOT OURPRIORITIES RIGHT?TIM'S NOTE: I cannot take credit for the following article as it was written by Bro. Patrick O'Neill,

a fine young Mason from Greeley, Colorado who I had the pleasure of meeting recently. His youth and

enthusiasm for True Masonry is very heartening and gives me a ray of hope that the future of the

fraternity will be fine as long as we have young and conscientious Masons like Bro. O'Neill. I hope you

enjoy his article.

Possibly the greatest danger to Freemasonry today

is confusion - confusion of what it is, and what it

is not. Without a clear-cut understanding of what

Freemasonry is we find ourselves involved in

extraneous matters. These diversions lure us awayfrom Masonry's proper place.

After much study, Brother C.C. Hunt

suggested that "Freemasonry is an

organized society of men symbolically

applying the principles of operative

masonry and architecture to the

science and art of character

building." This is very

simple and is the core of

our art, and if we keep our

eyes on the central

objective, we may yet

preserve Masonry.

"The concern of

Masonry is the

science and art of

character building."

Lodges frequently fall

into the trap of

engaging in many

w o r t h w h i l e

endeavors, but which

are not the direct

concern of the

Masonic Lodge. That

is not to say that thoseendeavors are not

worthy, or that they should never be the concern

of Masons.

It does illustrate that often in trying to do too much

we lose sight of our primary purpose; we head in

all directions at once and get nowhere. Let us

consider some of the things that Freemasonry is

not - things that divert the Lodge from its central

purpose of character building. It is not a charity,

though it is charitable. It is not a service club; it is

not a place to hone one's political or business skills.

It is not a place to make business contacts or to

look for better jobs.

Freemasonry is especially not a self-glorification

society. Neither, is it a mutual-admiration society.

Many persons outside our membership consider

it to be only this. In fact, I was told by a member

that the reason he wanted to become a Mason

was because when he was doing construction work

on a Lodge he saw the master of the Lodge driving

a Corvette; he was impressed by this, and he

wanted to join Masonry to be like that man. This

is certainly the wrong reason to seek out

membership in Freemasonry.

These men seek honors, not the opportunity for

service, they flaunt their insignia, rank, and

ostentatious trappings without the slightest inkling

of their symbolic meaning, and they have n

sincere dedication to those principles? If our own

members are so confused, is it any wonder we'r

on the wrong path?

History proves that elevation of the human spir

is the product of devotion to principle, hard work

and sacrifice. No honor worth having can be earne

by laziness, purchased with currency, or bargaine

for. The only true honor is earned by merit and i

extended only through continued service to hi

fellow man. There is a vast difference betwee

self-glorification and self-improvement. The on

is ludicrous and a sham. The other is the road to

life's fulfillment.

The member who takes office and honor for thsake of pride and persona

glory and does no

understand the deepe

obligations implied, is trul

the Emperor with n

clothes. He is deluded i

thinking the honor i

deserved. He is a

embarrassment and i

actually the object of pity

not of respect an

admiration.

These men surrounthemselves wit

sycophants and "ye

men," because the

cannot stand the light o

truth, they cannot look a

themselves with a

objective eye.

Men are drawn t

Masonry by the quality o

its members. When tha

quality is compromised i

the Lodge, members of

different sort will attempto maintain the Lodge b

any manner of devices, not Masonic.

They will attempt to become a "club" whic

deviates from the purpose of character building

This "club" will pat itself on the back at ever

corner, congratulating themselves for the mos

mediocre of accomplishments. They will buil

monuments to themselves and hang pictures an

plaques on walls, congratulating themselves fo

mediocre years of service. They do not recogniz

the basic principle of Masonry. This is no

Freemasonry, this is a sham.

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NOTE: The opinions expressed in this essay are my own ando not necessarily represent the views or opinions of any GranMasonic Jurisdiction or any other Masonic related body. Awith all of my Masonic articles herein, please feel free to reusthem in Masonic publications or to re-post them on Maosniweb sites (except Florida). When doing so, please add thfollowing:

Article reprinted with permission of the author and ThLodgeroom International Magazine. Please forward me a copof the publication when it is produced.

This group will join the group of hundreds of

"clubs" which had no definable purpose except

self glorification.

History has respected Masonry, but history will

not be kind to the lazy, the self promoting; the

insincere. This group or "club" will never attract

the potential members and the leadership that the

fraternity needs. Self-serving back scratching is

too transparent to fool discerning men of principle.

We have seen a great number of men come

through our doors and not remain, "Why?" Is it

because we asked too much of them, or is it

because they found nothing but a shell of what

was supposed be here behind our doors? I offer

that it is the latter.

Now we can continue down this path to oblivion,

or we can pull back and find our first purpose,

that of character building. Sometimes Lodges start

looking for a "purpose" so they adopt a cause or a

charity, and while these pursuits are for the greater

good they do not sustain or build the fraternity.

Too often Lodges fall victim to the idea that rather

than building the character of men we'll build a

building or we'll fix up the one we currently occupy.

They falsely believe that this will attract and keep

members and by doing this everything will be all

right. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The purpose of Freemasonry is character building,

not building or reconditioning buildings. Are great

characters built in shiny new edifices with marble

floors and chandeliers? Possibly. But they cannot

be built without the dedication and hard work of a

mentoring group.

Marble floors and new buildings don't build

character. I can name dozens of businessmen that

while very successful in business should never be

allowed to darken the door of our fraternity.

Likewise, I can think of dozens of NFL and pro

basketball players who have shiny marble floorsand beautiful chandeliers whom I wouldn't lower

myself to accept a petition from for membership

in the fraternity.

These men might even try to buy my respect

by offering me great sums of money to rebuild

the building I occupy. They might offer to build

me a shinny new Lodge, but I would accept

nothing from them because they are insincere

in their motives.

The fraternity's major problem isn't charitable

works or buildings, no the true problem lies in how

we choose our leaders. I liken our current system,

the progressive line, to musical chairs. The guy

who is the only one remaining in the Lodge after

the other new brothers are neglected and fail to

return is the one they put in the progressive line,

regardless of his qualifications and dedication to

his job.

It should not be this way. For years now we have

promoted a series of men through our chairs who

were not qualified to advance through them; that's

not to say they aren't good people. They did not

have the benefit of proper training and education.

They cannot properly lead a Lodge of Masons

because they don't know how.

To the new members they appear to be confusedand unsure about what they are doing. Men of

character will not follow a fool even if he is tied to

the oldest and most successful fraternity in the

world, so they leave. We have

allowed mediocrity to become

the norm and it shows now in

the membership.

Is it proper to promote people

just because they were the only

ones who continually showed

up to Lodge or they wanted to

do it "without putting in the

work or having the leadershipqualities so necessary for the

propagation of our order?" This

is completely backwards:

There is no man, nor has there

ever been one, who could

thrive in a leadership position

with no training and no

guidance.

Why wasn't character

development and leadership

development instituted as it

should have been? The answer

is simple: the men who had theresponsibility of mentoring

didn't do their jobs. No one is

born a leader, leadership is

taught, cultivated, and

perfected. Character is likewise

developed, it is cultivated, and

it is certainly not found in each

successive chair, after simply

filling the former one with one's

buttocks.

If we were to reevaluate our

priorities and concentrate on

our primary mission, namely character building

we can then expand our duties to take care of th

widows and orphans as our obligation as Maste

Masons directs. Our obligation does not say pa

for the building of a new lodge or the remodelin

of a deficient one to the exclusion of characte

building or to the exclusion of those worth

distressed Master Masons, their widows an

orphans.

Until we address the fact that our foundation i

buckling brick by brick, and strengthen thos

"bricks," Freemasonry will continue to suffer

Brothers, let's stop attacking symptoms an

address the true problems of the fraternity, let u

not fall into the trap of putting a fresh coat of pain

on our building when the foundation is crumblinunderneath us.

Keep the Faith.

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TimelessContinue from Page 2

making innovations?

Clearly, the answer is no. Referencing alone the

information contained in "The Convention that

Changed the Face of Freemasonry" we can see

that the ritual was deliberately and systematically...

standardized in the early 19th Century. And yet...

Ritual, from Merriam-Webster Online:

1: the established form for a ceremony;

specifically : the order of words prescribed

for a religious ceremony

2 a: ritual observance; specifically : a system of

rites

2 b: a ceremonial act or action

2 c: an act or series of acts regularly repeated in

a set precise manner(4)

There is nothing in this definition which would

give one the sense that ritual cannot be changed

or modified, so based on historical usage andtechnical definition, the ritual is NOT timeless, and

CAN be changed at whim. Therein lies the

challenge, for the ritual is designed to inculcate

certain wise and serious teachings, to assist in the

formation of a mason, to set a man on the path to

inner change... to make him a better man, before

g-d, his family, and his community.

It is a challenge because, any time change is

undertaken without serious contemplation of all

possible ramification, a slippery slope has been trod

upon, with the end unknown to the authors.(5)(6)

The Grand Lodge of California is very strict

about the ritual. As prescribed at the Convention

noted above, the ritual is overseen by a Grand

Lecturer, whose duty it is, with five Assistant

Grand Lecturers, and a number of Inspectors,

one assigned per district, to teach the ritual and

ensure that all lodges under charter to the Grand

Lodge of California, follow and use the same

ritual, jot and tittle, pronunciation, gesture and

floorwork. This leads to some interesting ritual

work, and in the past several years, a continuous

stream of minor "modifications"/"Corrections"

to the ritual work.

An effort to "standardize" the ritual has also been

undertaken in the past few years, so that what is

done in the first degree is also done in the second

and third. So if the Senior Deacon makes a 1/4

turn at one point in the ritual of the first degree, in

a similar circumstance in the second he does not

make a 1/2 turn, but instead ALSO makes the 1/4

turn. Minor tweeks.

This also means that if one Grand Lecturer feels

that, say, Succoth should be pronounced Suk-koth,

and the next feels it should be pronounced Zuk-

oth, well, the inspectors make sure that all Senior

Deacons know of the decision and are doing that

in all future degrees.

These "corrections" are communicated through the

Officer's Association all officer's are required to

attend once per month, where the ritual is

"exemplified" and information is disseminated. Agreat opportunity for masonic education is wasted

in these sessions, because the Inspectors (and

really, pitty the poor inspectors who have to try to

make this interesting) are required to exemplify

each degree at least twice per year, and assorted

other materials must be presented, each year, year

after year after year. So discussions of an

educational nature

must be set aside to

focus on the ritual...

but I digress.

The point here is

that the GrandLodge of California

is very strict about

the ritual, and what

actually constitutes

ritual. For instance,

strangely, the color

of the lights in the

lesser lights is a

matter of ritual, as is

the wearing of white

gloves by officers in

other than one part

of the third degree.

Also, so, apparently,is the path a Deacon walks in carrying out his

duties. These examples are offered not to ridicule

the Grand Lecturer or the good work that he and

his Assistant Grand Lecturers do, because it IS an

often thankless job they face, but to offer an insight

into the ritual workings in Califorina (and as I am

NOT a member of any other Grand jurisdiction, I

can only offer my perspective on California

practices).

What we end up with, then, is ritual controlled by

a small, closed group of well educated brothers

with the best intentions of the craft at heart. The

problem, however, is that these men, by the very

nature of their work, send out these "corrections

without the input of the men who will be usin

them. We are all brothers and fellows, and w

practice charity, of thought as well as of action

and obedience to lawful authority, but men ar

men, and over time what has resulted is a dua

ritual, one used when the Inspector/some gran

officer is looking, adn the ritual that is worked i

the lodge for the conferral of degrees.

The two rituals are similar, but in many case

what has developed is the knowledge that th

Grand Lecturer and Assistant Grand Lecturer

are ever changing, and the knowledge that th

next Grand Lecturer or Assistant Gran

Lecturer will change what his predecessor

have changed makes the ever changing ritua

more complex.

Even the best intentioned brother, dedicate

to inculcating every single "innovation" tha

comes down the pike at some point just trie

to keep his head above water, listening politel

when the Inspector corrects him, and then goe

on doing what he knows. The body o f changejust gets too large to compass and stil l lear

the work.

California has a working, systemic, and wel

implemented methodology in place to teach th

ritual (Officer's Association), it has a

authoritative and well educated cadre of Gran

Officer's in place to teach the ritual and carr

questions / suggestions / complaints up to th

Assistant Grand Lecturers and Grand Lecture

(Inspectors), and has a small, manageable

dedicated, well educated group of Ritua

Authorities (Grand Lecturer and Five Assistan

Grand Lecturers) to oversee the ritual. Thisystem has worked, and despite its flaws, i

continues to be a working and respecte

methodology with the backing of the Executiv

Committee and brethren of the lodges.

So, is ritual timeless and unchanging, written in

stone and inflexible?

Not in California... thank the GAOTU

References:

(1) Freemasonry as a Sacred Retreat by Joh

W. Taylor(2) The ANTIENT CHARGES an

REGULATIONS of the UNITED

GRAND LODGE of ENGLAND

(3) Grand Lodge of California, Free an

Accepted Masons, Installation Ritual

Obligations of a Master

(4) Merriam-Webster Online, Ritual, as a nou

(5) Slippery Slope, Wikipedia Online, Englis

Version, 02-17-08

(6) A Discourse on Method, by Ren

Descartes, ISBN-10: 0872204200; ISBN

13: 978-0872204201, Hackett Pub Co Inc

4 edition (June 1999)

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Continued on Next Pag

ImportantContinue from Page 3

Are these brothers any less masons for not having

personally experienced the ritual? No, of course

not, most of them are active, wonderful brothers.

None the less, the manner of their formation took

away from them a fundamental awakening of the

spirit which they may only achieve with difficult

work and contemplation.

It is NOT the intent of this article to discuss the

relative merits of one day conferrals, however, but

no discussion of the importance of the ritual in the

formation of a mason would be complete without

at least a nod in the direction of this subject.

Ritual teaches fundamental lessons through

symbols, on a subconscious level. This is a very

powerful teaching tool! Masonry is something

slightly different to every man, yet the fundamental

truths are always there, and it is the ritual which

speaks to the unconscious mind, which slips the

fundamental truths of Freemasonry past the

conscious defenses and makes fundamental andsubstantive changes.

So, why ritual? Again, quoting Joseph Campbell:

It has always been the prime function of mythology

and rite to supply the symbols that carry the human

spirit forward, in counteraction to those other

constant human fantasies that tend to tie it back.3

Ritual then is the tool which speaks directly to the

spirit, it is the three distinct knocks upon the portals

of the spirit which cause the doors to open and

spiritual eye to open and see more than the material

world. By this awakening, we use the spiritual eye

(reflected in our lodges as the All Seeing Eye)to behold Jacobs Ladder, which rises from the

material plane to the spiritual plane, and upon

which we place our first foot, symbolically, in the

Entered Apprentice Degree.

Without the Ritual, Freemasonry would just be

another frat club, and would offer nothing more

than the Moose or Elks or Eagles material charity

without a spiritual change.

Where, then, did the ritual originate? How did this

ritual, by which we are so fundamentally altered,

taught and spiritually nurtured, arise? That, my

brothers, is the subject of my next blog. .

1 Wikipedia Engli sh: ht tp:/ /

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ritual 2/26/08

2 Mythic Reflections, Thoughts on myth,

spirit, and our times an interview with

Joseph Campbell, by Tom Collins, One of

the articles in The New Story (IC#12),

Winter 1985/86, Page 52 Copyright

(c)1986, 1997 by Context Institute.

3 The Hero With A Thousand Faces,Joseph

Campbell, Bollingen Series XVII,

Princeton University Press, 1973, pp 11

ConventionContinue from Page 3

Master Mason, except as such that appertains to

the conferring of the inferior Degrees and the

instruction therein. It credited the Grand Lodge

of Missouri for bringing this to the attention of

Freemasons everywhere. The Committee went on

to say Entered Apprentices and Fellow Crafts arenot members of Lodges, nor are they entitled to

the franchises of members.

The suspension of a Mason for non-payment of

dues was also considered by the Committee. It

believed that uniform legislation should be adopted

by the Grand Lodges to protect the Fraternity.

It wasnt long before several Grand Lodges

changed their laws to conform to the

recommendations of this Committee. Certificates

or cards were issued by Grand Secretaries to

members of Lodges. And Grand Lodges ordered

lodges to set cash fees for conferring degrees.Representatives were appointed by some Grand

Lodges that had never done so before. And many

Grand Lodges changed from conferring all business

in the Entered Apprentice Degree to that of the

Master Mason Degree.

Maryland was one Grand Lodge that acted almost

immediately on these suggestions. on May 16,

1842, it voted to elect one Grand Lecturer to attend

the conference in I843. It ordered the Grand

Secretary to procure certificates to issue to Master

Masons in good standing. It ordered all Lodges to

conduct their business in the Master Mason

Degree. It said that when a Mason is suspendedfor any cause whatever, he is for the time of such

suspension debarred from all rights and privileges

of the order.

In 1842, some Lodges in Virginia started conducting

their business in the Master Mason Degree. So it

went over the next several years, but it was as late

as 1851 before the Grand Lodge of Maine changed

from working or conducting its business in the First

to that of the Master Mason Degree.

It might be well to consider why some of the

leaders of Freemasonry were concerned about the

looseness of the ritual, as well as many other fact

of the Fraternity.

Looking back to the year 1826, and the two

decades that followed, it is found that in 1826

one William Morgan, who had purported to be

Freemason, disappeared. Freemasons were ac

cused of murdering him, although there has neve

been any evidence that he was harmed in any way

He merely disappeared. This set off a hue and cr

against Freemasonry. In many in-stances, Gran

Lodges could not find a quorum to meet. Lodge

turned in their charters by the hundreds

Freemasons quit by the thousands. Freemasonry

was in deplorable condition.

During this period many of the ritualists and th

men who had been dedicated to the principles o

Freemasonry were lost to the Craft. Many died

Others quit because of the persecution hande

down to their families because they would no

renounce their membership in the Order. For thes

and various other reasons, Masonic Lodges wer

not operating anywhere near their capacity.

This was the state of affairs in the late 1830s, wheAlabama called for a Convention to rectify man

of the things that had gone awry. These were som

of the things causing the Convention meeting i

Washington to make the recommendations it did

These were some of the things carried into th

Baltimore Convention of 1843, the Conventio

which we have heard so much about.

The ritual in its various forms did take much o

the time of those attending the Baltimor

Convention from May 8 to 17, 1843, meeting i

the Masonic Hall on Saint Paul Street with six

teen of the twenty-three Grand Lodges in th

United States represented. But many hours wertaken to discuss the several points brought ou

during the convention held in Washington. And

approved everything that had been accomplishe

in the District.

The evening session was opened with the ad

dress of the President of the Convention, Joh

Dove of Virginia. His opening remarks stated th

purpose for the Convention: For the first tim

in the Masonic history of the United States o

North America, the Craft have found it necessar

and expedient to assemble by thei

representatives, to take into consideration th

propriety of devising some uniform mode oaction by which the ancient landmarks of ou

beloved Order may be preserved and perpetuated

and by which posterity in all times to come ma

be enabled to decide with certainty upon th

pretensions of a Brother, no matter in which

section of our blessed and happy land he may

reside; and, finally, and we hope no distant date

to transfer those inestimable privileges to ou

Brothers throughout the Masonic World. Dove

statement shows that much more than the ritua

was involved.

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The following day, May 9, the Committee on the

General Object of the Convention submitted its

report. It said: The objects of the Convention are

two-fold, viz.: 1. To produce uniformity of Masonic

Work; 11. To recommend such measures as shall

tend to the elevation of the Order to its due degree

of respect throughout the world at large.

Four standing committees were appointed:

1. On the work and lectures in conferring

Degrees.

2. On the Funeral Service.

3. On the ceremonies of Consecration and

Installation.

4. On Masonic Jurisprudence.

It is interesting to note the prominent Masons who

were appointed to the Committee on Work. John

Dove, at the insistence of the Convention, became

the Chairman. John Barney of Ohio, S.W.B.

Carnegy of Missouri, Charles W. Moore of

Massachusetts, and Ebenezer Wadsworth of New

York were the other members.

On the morning of May 10, this Committee recitedthe lecture of the First Degree. The Convention

adopted the work of the Committee by a vote of

fourteen to one. Ebenezer Wadsworth of New

York, cast the dissenting vote. The following day,

the Committee reported on the opening and

closing of ceremonies of the First Degree and

their work was accepted by the Convention.

Then the Chairman of the Commit-tee, John Dove,

assisted by Charles Moore, reported the lecture

of the Second Degree. This work was also

accepted by the Convention. But evidently

Ebenezer Wadsworth was not happy with the work

that had been accepted by the Convention. Herequested to be excused from serving longer on

the Committee on Work. He was excused and

Brother Edward Herndon, of Alabama, substituted.

At the Friday morning session, the opening work

of the Third Degree was accepted by the

Convention with a vote of twelve to one with

New York dissenting.

On Monday morning, May 15, the following was

reported: The undersigned Committee on the

Dedication, Consecration and Installation of

Lodges, etc., having had the several subjects

submitted to them under consideration, beg leaverespectfully to report that they have examined and

carefully compared all the various authors and

systems which they have been able to obtain, and

present the following, viz.:

That the forms in the Monitor, under the

authorship of M.W. Thomas S. Webb,

republished in 1812, possesses the least faults

of any which have been before them, and has

a high claim to antiquity, and having been

in general use as a standard work for nearly

half a century, possess no errors of material

as to re-quire alteration, except as follows.

There followed six minor changes that it

recommended be made, three of them in the

Installation Ceremony.

Concerning the Certificates of Good Standing,

the Convention said that the Washington

Convention of 1842 earnestly recommended to

the consideration of the Fraternity such

Certificate, and where it has escaped attention in

the deliberations of any Grand Lodge, this

Convention call it to their view, as being a check

admirably calculated to preserve the Fraternity

from unworthy Brethren from a distance, and an

additional means of protection to the good and

the deserving.

The Convention adopted a resolution that was to

have far-reaching and controversial effects:

That a Committee be designated to prepare and

publish at an early day, a text hook, to he called

The Masonic Trestle-Board, to embrace three

distinct, full and complete Masonic Carpets,

illustrative of the three Degrees of ancient Craft

Masonry; together with the ceremonies of

consecrations, dedications and installation; layingof corner-stones of public edifices; the Funeral

service, and order of processions. To which shall

be added the Charges, Prayers and Exhortations,

and the selection from scripture, appropriate and

proper for Lodge service. The Committee further

report, that they deem it expedient that a work be

published to contain archaeological research into

the history of the Fraternity in the various nations

of the world.

The Committee on Masonic Jurisprudence

reported it had considered whether or not the

evils which this Convention has met to rectify and

remove, have arisen from any defect or fault inthe present system of organizations as adopted by

the Fraternity of the United States. It concluded

the evils existed, mainly because of the individual

action of the numerous Grand Lodges in the United

States. Inter-communication between Grand

Lodges did not exist. The purity and unity of

work prevalent in Europe was therefore missing.

UNITY throughout the whole Masonic family is

essential, claimed the Committee. Any system

of polity tending to throw obstacles in its way must

be wrong. The simple truth that we are all Brethren

of one family, and look up to one common Father,

the Lord our God, is the basis of all the ancientconstitutions .

To correct the evils that prevailed, the

Committee said it had considered two plans:

1st. A General Grand Lodge of the United States.

2nd. A triennial convention of representatives of

the several Grand Lodges of the United States.

It went on to state: Your Committee, without

encumbering their report with long arguments, beg

to recommend the latter course as being that, which

in their opinion, will best attain the end proposed.

So, contrary to what many Freemasons have bee

led to believe, the Baltimore Convention of 184

did not recommend the establishment of Genera

Grand Lodge. It did recommend the severa

Grand Lodges of the United States to enter into

and form a National Masonic Convention.

The Jurisprudence Committee had als

considered a question about whether or not

Lodge could try its Master. It concluded: Th

Master is an integral part of its government

unable to sit in judgment on himself, and ye

without whom the Lodge could not act, withou

as it were, committing felon de se (suicide). Th

Committee offered the following, with which th

Convention concurred.... a subordinate Lodg

has not the right to try its Master, but that he i

amenable to the Grand Lodge alone.

The Committee considered sojourning Masons a

freeloaders. It believed all Masons living in th

vicinity of a Lodge and not a member of it shoul

be required to contribute a sum equal in value t

the annual dues per capita of the subordinate Lodg

in whose jurisdiction they reside. The Conventio

voted to recommend that all Grand Lodges takthis recommendation under advisement.

In an attempt to bring unity Throughout the worl

in all things pertaining to Masonry, the Conventio

approved a recommendation to send a Delegat

from the Masonic Fraternity of the United State

to their Brethren in Europe.

On the evening of May 15 the Committee on Wor

exemplified the opening and closing of the Lodg

in the Third Degree. The ceremonies for openin

and closing a Lodge were exemplified on th

morning of the 16th. Then the Convention adopte

a resolution thanking the Grand Lodge of Marylanfor its hospitality. It was especially appreciative o

Maryland assuming all expenses. This wa

followed by the presentation of the Lecture o

the First Degree.

It was Resolved, that the interest of the Masoni

Fraternity, and the good of mankind may be greatl

promoted by the publication of a periodical devote

to Free-Masonry. This Convention, therefore

cheerfully recommend the Free-Masons Monthl

Magazine, edited and published by 13rothe

Charles W. Moore, of Boston, Massachusetts a

eminently useful and well-deserving the generou

patronage, support and study of the wholFraternity. The Convention concurred.

Each delegate contributed $5.00 to defray th

expenses of printing. It was resolved to hold th

next Convention in Winchester, Virginia, on th

second Monday in May, in the year I846. Thi

was never held.

The evening session of May 16th was devoted t

the degree work. The President repeated the firs

section of the F.C. and M.M. Degrees; and Brothe

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Moore, the second sections of the same Degrees.

The Committee then exemplified the work in the

Third Degree.

On the morning of the last day of the Convention,

the Master Mason Degree was exemplified. Then,

while the President was absent from the hall,

Brother Carnegy took the chair, and a resolution

praising John Dove of Virginia was unanimously

adopted. Albert Case of South Carolina was also

thanked for his work as secretary. The concluding

session was held in the afternoon of May 17th.

The Convention approved a letter, read by the

Secretary, Albert Case, to be sent to the Masonic

Fraternity of the United States. Each paragraph

contained the flowery language of the day pleading

with the Freemasons of the country to unite in

love, friendship and brotherhood.

This letter, written immediately following the anti-

Masonic craze that began in 1826, called upon all

Lodges to exercise their powers and cleanse the

sanctuary of unfaithful Masons. It concluded by

asking all Freemasons to Be true to your

principles, and the great moral edifice will stand

beautiful and complete. Together, Brethren, be trueand faithful.

The President thanked the delegates for the

compliments paid him, and for their diligent work.

He called upon the Chaplain to dismiss them with

prayer. The Convention was then adjourned sine die.

The Convention was ended, but its

accomplishments would change the face of

Freemasonry throughout the United States.

BusinessContinue from Page 4

to another from, in some cases, ONE DAY, to a

minimum of 90 days. Give the candidate time to

learn to BE a mason, to take in the wise and serious

truths being presented to him, to take the time to

actually become a Mason.

Below is some information from Paul Bessel

on the Grand Lodges that already have chosen

to return to the true tradition of working in the

first degree.

Grand Lodges Where Business Can Now be

Done on the First Degree

1. Connecticut as of Apr. 1, 1987: Grand

Lodge voted to allow Stateds on any

degree, but only MM's vote.

3. Missouri as of Sept. 27, 1994: Bylaws now

says: A STATED COMMUNICATION

requires that the lodges open on the first,

second and third degrees.

5 . Washington as of June 13, 1996:

Resolution said a significant number of

EA's, FC's, and MM's fail to progress, if

they can attend and participate in Lodge

business their interest and knowledge may

increase at an earlier time and they will be

more likely to continue as active Masons,

doing business on the 3rd degree was an

innovation in the U.S. in 1843. The WM

decides on which degree to open a meeting.

Only MM's who have passed their

proficiency can vote on certain items.

7. Idaho as of Sept. 20, 1996: Idaho voted to

allow lodges to open and conduct business

on any degree at the discretion of the

Master. There is an exception that balloting

on petitions may only be done on the 3rd

degree. Masons below the rank of Master

Mason are not allowed a vote and may

debate only at the discretion of the

Worshipful Master. This action was

probably taken in 1996 or 1997.

9. Colorado as of January 1997.

11. Kansas as of March 1997 by edict of the

Grand Master

13. Arizona as of June 7, 1997: Resolution said

restricting attendance at stated meetings to

MM's deprives EA's and FC's of fellowship

and activity. Says business will be done in

lodge of EA, FC, or MM, decided by the

WM, but only MM's can vote and holdoffice.

15. Nevada as of Nov. 11, 1997: Resolution

states all business, except conferring of the

FC and MM degrees, shall be done in a

Lodge of EAs, but only MMs who are

members of a lodge may vote in that

Lodge. In 1998 (and again in 1999),

rejected a resolution to allow the WM to

conduct business meetings on any of the 3

degrees, so they must be on the EA degree,

except for conferring of degrees.

17. Alabama as of 1998: GL voted to allow

business on any degree.

19. Minnesota as of April 15-17, 1999:Resolution said present rules exclude EA's

and FC's from attending stateds of lodge

they have joined, while they are subject to

discipline already, it is desirable to include

new members as soon as possible,

educational programs will be of interest to

new members. Allows WM to open on any

degree, but only MM's can vote.

21. Oregon as of June 4, 1999: WM permitted

to open Stated meetings on EA or FC

degree to permit EAs and FCs to attend,

without benefit of being voting members.

23. Montana as of 2000, The GL of Montana

began allowing all lodges to conductbusiness on the EA or FC degrees at the

option of the WM.

25. Maryland as of Nov. 15, 1999: At the

discretion of the Worshipful Master, a

Lodge may be opened in any of the three

degrees and all business except that which

relates specifically to a particular degree

may be transacted in the Lodge sitting in

any of the three degrees. Provided,

however, that only Master Masons who

are members of the Lodge may cast a

ballot, vote, or participate in debate on any

matter coming before the Lodge or exercise

any other right or privilege of membershi

relating to the business of the Lodge.

27. New Mexico as of March 2000

29. Utah - No details available

31. District of Columbia as of November 4

2000: WM may open and conduct busines

on any degree, but only MMs can vote o

exercise other privileges of Lodg

membership.

33. Massachusetts, date not known Gran

Lodge voted to allow Stateds on any

degree, but only MM's vote.

35. Vermont (Thanks Errol and Wr

O'Sullivan!!)

37. Ohio (Thanks Tom)

39. South Dakota (Thanks Silence Dogood)

41. Texas as of 2007

Grand Lodges Where Business on the First

Degree is Known to be Under Consideration

Alaska

Illinois

New York

Oklahoma

OriginContinue from Page 6

morality play (usually called simply a

morality) presented religious and ethical

concerns from the point of view of the

individual Christian, whose main concern

was to effect the salvation of his soul:

One of the longest and best preserved

morality plays is The Castle of Perseverance.

Like most morality plays, it takes a central

figure who represents all of us, and confrontshim (he is always a male) with a situation

which involves a moral decision. The central

character in The Castle of Perseverance is

Mankind* (another well-known morality play

concerns Everyman).The staging of The

Castle of Perseverance is discussed in the

section of the site on the early stage.1

So it was religious in nature in its beginnings, arisin

from the dramatizations of the sacred events an

scenes of scripture. But a process of secularizatio

had begun even before the morality plays arose a

a separate form within the genre.

Originally, the cast of characters involved in thes

plays were the clergy and their congregations. Bu

the Catholic Church frowned on the plays whe

certain secular elements entered in, and a papa

edict issued in 1210 forbade clergy from acting o

the public stage. That was merely the first step i

further secularization.

Increasingly the actors came from townspeopl

who were not necessarily members of the church

and as a result, supervisory control of th


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moralities, as they were also called, shifted to the

town guilds. With this change, fewer and fewer

people understood what was happening onstage

in the Latin vernacular, and the Latin was replaced.

Eventually other scenes became inserted that were

not in the Bible. To increase the dramatic effect of

the plays, character and story detail grew in

importance. But they still retained their connection

to the sacred, and they began to follow the cycle

of the Christian Church calendar.

As the interest in them grew, and as they became

more refined and enhanced, some definite

characteristics began to stand out. A study at

Arizona State University notes these

characteristics, and makes the bold assertion that

we still maintain the same forms in practically every

format we have in drama today, be it comedy, or

drama, or even the television news:

Narrative structure: theres a story that

can be told.

Universal and Moral: the story could

or does affect many people.

Specific time and place: a specific

location and time is involved providing

urgency.

Unambiguous: the event either is or can

be made to have a cause-effect

relationship and is easily understood.

Focus is disorder: something is wrong

and there is a solution.

Culturally resonant: the story is

something that people can identify

with easily.2

There are other elements which stand out as well,

particularly the struggle of a central character with

the forces of good and evil. The characters aregenerally personifications of some particular virtue

or vice, and there are allurements throughout the

story that try to persuade the main character to

succumb to one or the other. Eventually various

representations of the devil gave way to one main

character simply known as Vice, who was the

main antagonist who tried to turn the lead character

from following his path.

By the fifteenth century, the moralities had evolved

into a form of secular dinner entertainment, often

performed before royal courts. They developed

into a briefer, more comic form known as

interludes, after the brief humorous segmentincluded in each play became a standard audience

favorite. From this the form even developed into

a new breed of political and religious satire. One

example of this focus is the play Mankind:

Within the play there is there is a reference to an

imaginary Pope Pocket which is seen as many

as a jibe against the Popes greed. It is also possible

that this was a reference to John Poket who was

the Prior of Barnwell Abbey, near Cambridge, the

area in which Mankind is believed to have

originated. John was Prior between 1444 and 1464.

Line 514 suggests that Prior had dealings with

Master Allington of Bottisham, this is seen as a

reference to the local papal representative of the

time. This explains the ironic Pope reference. 3

There is no doubt that the immortal bard, William

Shakespeare, was influenced by the morality plays,

as has been attested to by many a Shakespeare

historian already. So should it be any surprise that

he would be connected with Freemasonry as well?

The Masonic references in the Shakespeare plays

are numerous, some fairly obvious and others

extremely subtle, but all woven into the text in

such a way that they form a natural part of the

magical garment. A Freemason is referred to

several times and in several ways, as, for instance,

referring to the higher degrees, a brother of

gracious Order, late come from the Sea, in special

business from his Holinesse.5

In Henry V the brethren are referred to as the

singing masons building roofs of gold; 6in KingJohn as a worshipful society; 7 whilst Loves

Labors Lost not only mentions profound

Solomon 8but also the Lodge and a password,

suitably disguised:

Arm. I will visit thee at the Lodge.

Jaq. Thats hereby.

Arm. I know where it is situate.

Jaq. Lord, how wise you are....

Arm. Come Jaquenetta....9

But how may this dramatic form be said to be

linked to Freemasonry and/or its development?

That depends a great deal on whose format you

accept for exactly when Freemasonry developed.

The most common understanding is that it arose

during this same period, and had its origins in themedieval craft guilds. That would place the

development of Freemasonry squarely within the

same time frame of the development of the

morality plays.

The most accurate dating we have for any of the

extant morality plays is the play Mankind, which

has been dated by internal evidence in the mention

of two coins of the realm, the royal and the angel,

which both date from the late 1400s.

With the transition of the mystery plays into the

more secular Moralities, one may speculate that

the Catholic Church, who denounced them fromthe very first secular elements they absorbed,

would have become increasingly critical of them

as they further evolved in that direction. This may

certainly be one factor that figured into the historic

relationship of animosity of the Catholic Church

toward Freemasonry.

Ironically, one of the most striking descriptions I

found in looking at the connection of the Moralities

with Freemasonry, came from a Catholic website:

The aim of both was religious. In the

Mi ra cl e play th e su bj ec t- ma tt er is

concerned with Bible narrative, Lives of

Saints, the Apocryphal Gospels, and pious

legends, a certain historical or traditional

foundation underlies the plot, and the object

was to teach and enforce truths of the

Catholic faith. In the Morality the matter

was allegorical rather than historical, and

its object was ethical; the cultivation of

Christian character. The intention of both

Miracle Plays and Moralities, as we have

said, was religious; in the one it aimed at

faith, the teaching of dogma, in the other

morals, the application of Christian

doctrine to conduct.4

That description is almost a mirror image of muc

of the current debate, in which Freemasons hav

made the assertion, as a counter to antimasoni

claims that Freemasonry is a religion, that it i

simply a system designed to teach morals, bu

morals which are distinctly founded on Christia

principles. Of course, the author of that article di

not have Freemasonry in mind at all. But ther

are many writers around who have spotted th

connection of Freemasonry with the morality plays

Freemasonry is avowedly concerned with

morality. Its symbols are interpreted for the

candidate in moral terms (thus, when the

working tools are displayed in the first

degree, the candidate is told that we apply

these tools to our morals) and its ceremonies

are effectively morality plays, stressing

particular virtues.

Freemasonry is an esoteric art, in that

certain aspects of its internal work are not

generally revealed to the public. Masons give

numerous reasons for this, one of which is

that Freemasonry uses an initiatory systemof degrees to explore ethical and

philosophical issues, and this system is less

effective if the observer knows beforehand

what will happen.5

There are three initial degrees of Freemasonry

(1) Entered Apprentice, (2) Fellow Craft and (3

Master Mason. One works through each degre

by taking part in a ritual, essentially a medieva

morality Play, in which one plays a role, alon

with members of the Lodge that one is joining

The setting is Biblicalthe building of the Templ

of Solomon in Jerusalemalthough the storie

themselves are not directly from the Bible, andnot intended to be necessarily Jewish or Christia

in nature.

Nothing supernatural happens in these stories. Th

Temple can be taken to represent the temple o

the individual human being, that of the human

community, or of the entire universe.

As one works through the degrees, one studie

the lessons and interprets them for oneself. Ther

are as many ways to interpret the rituals as ther

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are Masons, and no Mason may dictate to any

other Mason how he is to interpret them. No

particular truths are espoused, but a common

structurespeaking symbolically to universal

human archetypesprovides for each Mason a

means to come to his own answers to lifes

important questions.6

This constant movement of skilled labor from

project to project, Lodge to Lodge, country to

country, created lines of communication, and an

increasing uniformity of standards; of modes of

recognition and levels of expectation; of secrets

that were the currency - the coin - of the craft.

Beyond skills, reliable moral and ethical behavior

was expected. Morality plays were developed,

sometimes performed in public on construction

sites. Were these the source of our modern

Degree rituals?

Obviously, there are quite a few people who have

answered that question with a well-qualified yes.

But within the descriptions provided by these

sources, I noticed little details that in my judgment

bolster the case for the suggested origin of therituals from the morality plays:

The action of the morality play centres on

a hero, such as Mankind, whose inherent

weaknesses are assaulted by such

personified diabolic forces as the Seven

Deadly Sins but who may choose redemption

and enlist the aid of such figures as the Four

Daug hter s of Go d (Mercy, Ju st ice,

Temperance, and Truth).

No Mason should have to look twice at this

paragraph to see two of the four cardinal virtues,

in those four attributes, and a strong emphasis onthe other two as well.

Typically, the morality play is a psychomachia,

an externalized dramatization of a psychological

and spiritual conflict: the battle between the forces

of good and evil in the human soul. This interior

struggle involves the Christians attempt to

achieve salvation, despite the obstacles and

temptations that he encounters as he travels

through life, toward death.

In England the moralities dramatized the progress

of the Christians life from innocence to sin, and

from sin to repentance and salvation. Among themost widely known of the fifteenth-century

moralities are The Castell of Perseverance, which

features a battle between Virtues and Vices;

Mankind, which incorporates topical farce; and

perhaps the most famous of all the English morality

plays, Everyman (c. 1495), which concerns the

Christians experience of mortality and Judgment.

Think for a moment of the typical antimasonic

objection to the presence of these themes,

suggesting that they reflect a Masonic plan of

salvation. It is one thing to contain these themes

as a matter of course within the dramatic form(s)

in which the rituals appear; it is quite another to

divorce the rituals from their format, strip them of

the Christian bearing with which they were

conceived, and come up with anything with the

least resemblance to truth in whatever

understanding is left as a result. Thus the typical

antimasonic objection to the words in the Fellow

Craft degree prologue is totally unfounded when

you consider it in comparison with the same themes

prevalent in the form from which it derived:

As you progress through the three degrees,

remember also that they are emblematical

of the stages of ones life. The Entered

Appre nt ice rep res ents youth, and the

attainment of knowledge. The Fellowcraft

degree represents manhood, and the

application of what has been learned in our

youth. And we will see later, that the Master

Mason degree represents the man of years,

with the wisdom of a lifetime, and the setting

sun in his eyes.7

They conceived the different desires and appetites

of Man as personalities, named them Greed,

Pride, Vanity, Good Will, Patience, and the like,and caused them to weave their plots so as to

capture the soul of the hero, who was called

Everyman, Humanum Genus, or Man. Besides

the personified desires, there were also in most

plays other characters such as the Doctor, the

Priest, or a public officer. God and the Devil were

usually present.8

The main characters in Everyman are God, a

Messenger, Death, Everyman, Fellowship,

Kindred, Cousin, Goods, Knowledge, Beauty,

Strength, and Good Deeds. Everyman is immersed

in worldly pleasures when Death summons

unexpectedly him. He soon finds that none of hissupposedly loyal companions (Fellowship,

Kindred, Cousin) will go with him. His treasured

Goods also desert him, and at the grave the qualities

of the flesh (Beauty, Strength) also fade away.

Only Good Deeds stays with him to help him get

into Paradise, which is accomplished with the help

and guidance of Knowledge, by means of

Confession and Priesthood.

In other moralities, various manifestations of the

forces of Evil (the Seven Deadly Sins, the World,

the Flesh, the Devil, Vice) are arrayed against the

Christian, who turns for help to the forces of Good

(God, His angels, Virtue). The quality of writingin the moralities is uneven, and in many cases the

author is unknown. Characterization is also crude

and nave, and there is little attempt to portray

psychological depth.9

Need I point out the obvious virtues, and the

themes, that are characteristic of the rituals of

Freemasonry? Certainly not to most of you here.

The connection of Masonic ritual to a dramatic

form of its time raises questions that must of

necessity be raised, whether speaking of Masonic

ritual, or of Scripture, or of any other literary work

which comes down to us from a time and cultur

very different from our own: What were th

forms? What was the influence on both structur

and content? To what degree did these affect th

writing in question? How does this influence affec

the way we approach interpretation an

understanding? To wahat degree does it alter wha

we have already come to believe and accept?

In answering these questions, the measure to

which we acknowledge and allow the influenc

of a very specific literary genre and form, wil

greatly influence our understanding of the conten

In this case, my own assessment is, that it is ver

clear there was significant influence from th

morality plays in the style and presentation o

these ritual enactments, enough to make i

impossible to ignore the significance of allegorica

interpretation of their content, and of th

characters represented.

References

1 Internet Shakespeare, http://ise.uvic.ca

L i b r a r y / S L T n o f r a m e s / d r a m a

moralities.html#fn12 Morality Plays Revisted, Arizona Stat

University, http://researchmag.asu.edu

stories/mediaside.html

3 How do we know when Morality Play

were written? Cathedral Morality Plays

http://vzone.virgin.net/numb.world

cathedral.morality.plays2.htm

4 Moralities, New Advent Catholic Onlin

Encylopedia, http://www.newadvent.org

cathen/10557b.htm

5 Freemasonry And Esoteric Movements

Presented At Cmrc By Robert Gilbert O

1 Mar 2000, http://www.canonbury.ac.uk

lectures/esoteric.htm6 English Wikipedia, http://en.wikipedia.org

wiki/Freemasonry

7 Prolog, ht tp:/ /www.mn-masons .org

Portals/57ad7180-c5e7-49f5-b282

c6475cdb7ee7/prolog.html

8 Martha Fletcher Bellinger, Moralities

Interludes and Farces of the Middle Ages,

A Short History of the Drama, New York

Henry Holt and Company, 1927. pp. 138

44.

9 Internet Shakespeare, http://ise.uvic.ca

L i b r a r y / S L T n o f r a m e s / d r a m a

moralities.html#fn1
http://astore.amazon.com/sellbuynet-20

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PrinciplesContinue from Page 6

That which is hateful to you, do not do to your

fellow. This is the whole of the law. The rest is

commentary.

Therefore a little commentary: Freemasonry teaches

us principles to inculcate in our morality, as our

morality is rooted in those principles. As masons, we

are enjoined to act upon the square, as the square is

a symbol of morality. Lets look at what Merriam-

Webster has to say about morality:

a. of or relating to principles of right and wrong in

behavior : ethical (moral judgments)

b: expressing or teaching a conception of right

behavior (a moral poem)

c: conforming to a standard of right behavior

d: sanctioned by or operative on ones conscience

or ethical judgment (a moral obligation)

e: capable of right and wrong action (a moral agent)

So, principles of right and wrong behavior defineour morals. Inculcation of Masonic principles

therefore informs our morals. By the inculcation of

these principles, we improve our morals, or rather,

reinforce our morals, and become better men.

I write reinforce our morals deliberately, because to

become a mason, you must already be a good and

upright man. There is nothing in freemasonry,

hopefully, that does not already exist in your heart

and conduct, hence the inference that a man is first

made a mason in his heart. To become a mason, you

must already BE one in your heart, life and conduct.

Initiation simply reteaches you, reinforces in you,those great moral principles that you have already

learned from your parents and from, hopefully,

society. Freemasons are, or should be, moral men,

acting upon the level and the square, upright before

god and man, circumscribing their desires and keeping

their passions within dues bounds.

From morals proceeds, or ought to proceed, ethics.

Again, from Merriam-Webster:

Ethics:

1. plural but sing or plural in constr : the

discipline dealing with what is good and badand with moral duty and obligation

2 a: a set of moral principles : a theory or system

of moral values (the present-day materialistic

ethic) (an old-fashioned work ethic) often

used in plural but singular or plural in

construction (an elaborate ethics) (Christian

ethics)

b: plural but sing or plural in constr : the principles

of conduct governing an individual or a group

(professional ethics) c: a guiding philosophy

d: a consciousness of moral importance (forge

a conservation ethic)

3 plural : a set of moral issues or aspects (as

rightness) (debated the ethics of human

cloning)

From Principles proceeds morals and from a set of

morals proceeds our ethics. Once again, the trinity,

the triad which is really a monad, three sides of the

same thing, each supporting and defining the other.

The principles of freemasonry are much the same.

No one principle stands alone, but works in

conjunction, each supporting the other into a pleasing

and unified whole. By the influence of brotherly love

we are more charitable toward our brothers failing

(and strengths). By being prudent, and speaking onl

that which is appropriate to be spoken (Maintainin

silence), acting in a brotherly manner with charity

we avoid the pitfall of gossip.

An extended case can be made that acting on th

principles in all our lawful activities we will be mora

and upright men, acting with ethics than none can

reproach. In fact, it is quintessentially Masonic TO

act by these principles, and do nothing that will cas

a cloud upon our ancient and honorable fraternity.

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16/16

The Last WordWho You Love

John Blanchard stood up from the bench, straightened

his Army uniform, and studied the crowd of people

making their way through Grand Central Station. He

looked for the girl whose heart he knew, but whose

face he didnt, the girl with the rose.

His interest in her had begun thirteen months before

in a Florida library. Taking a book off the shelf he

found himself intrigued, not with the words of the

book, but with the notes penciled in the margin.

The soft handwriting reflected a thoughtful soul

and insightful mind.

In front of the book, he discovered the previous owners

name, Miss Hollis Maynell. With time and effort he

located her address. She lived in New York City.

He wrote her a letter

introducing himself and

inviting her to correspond.

The next day he wasshipped overseas for

service in World War II

During the next year and

one-month the two grew to

know each other through

the mail. Each letter was a seed falling on a fertile

heart. A Romance was budding. Blanchard

requested a photograph, but she refused. She felt

that if he really cared, it wouldnt matter what she

looked like.

When the day finally came for him to return from

Europe, they scheduled their first meeting - 7:00pm at Grand Central Station in New York. Youll

recognize me, she wrote, by the red rose Ill be

wearing on my lapel. So at 7:00 he was in the

station looking for a girl whose heart he loved, but

whose face hed never seen.

Ill let Mr. Blanchard tell you what happened:

A young women was coming toward me, her

figure long and slim. Her blonde hair lay back

in curls from her delicate ears; her eyes were

blue as flowers.

Her lips and chin had a gentle firmness, and in her

pale green suit she was like springtime come alive.I started toward her, entirely forgetting to notice

that she was not wearing a rose. As I moved, a

small, provocative smile curved her lips. Going

my way, sailor? she murmured.

Almost uncontrollably I made one step closer to

her, and then I saw Hollis Maynell. She was

standing almost directly behind the girl. A women

well past 40, she had graying hair tucked under a

worn hat. She was more than plump, her thick-

ankled feet thrust into low-heeled shoes. The girl

in the green suit was walking quickly away. I felt

as though I split in two, so keen was my desire to

follow her, and yet so deep was my longing for

the women whose spirit had truly companioned

me and upheld my own.

And there she stood. Her pale, plump face was

gentle and sensible, her gray eyes had a warm and

2008-04 lodgeroom

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